


Nobody Here But Us Badgers

by Megara Bee (Megara_Bee)



Series: Hiatus Sunday Fluff [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hiatus Sunday Fluff, HiatusSundayFluff, floof family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 02:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2906228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megara_Bee/pseuds/Megara%20Bee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle, Rumple, and young Bae spend a Saturday playing Hide and Seek in the pink house. Whipped cream kisses ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody Here But Us Badgers

“There you are!” Belle shouted, flinging aside the drawing room curtain. “Oh, phooey.” Bae was not there after all, just a discarded pair of his shoes. “Hmm… where could he be?” she called, loud enough that the five year-old would hear her as she prowled through the house.  

She heard a giggle. Belle followed the sound, her pink socks noiseless on the floor. “Hmm, maybe he’s in the laundry room,” she said, pausing at the door. A giggle from behind her. “Alright then… maybe he’s in the bathroom,” another giggle, “or perhaps the kitchen?”

The kitchen it was. She crept inside, eyes peeled for a small, laughing boy with his father’s eyes. She saw a bit of green sweater caught in the door of a low cupboard. Belle smiled. Getting down on all fours, she crawled over to it. Kneeling before the doors, she yanked them open.

“Got you!” she cried. Bae’s laugh was musical as he leapt into her arms and she tickled him, rolling on the cold kitchen floor. When they had subsided into a heap of breathless joy, Bae flopped across her chest, Belle sighed. She brushed his hair from his eyes and smiled. “Alright, my love, shall we go find your father?”

“We’ll never find Papa. He’s a really good hider.”

Belle’s lips quirked in chagrin. “Oh, I know. He’s very good at avoiding unpleasant conversations. But I think two clever people like us can manage to find that old badger, hmm?”

Bae giggled. “Bag-der! He’s not a bag-der!”

“Do you know what a badger is?”

“No.”

“Well then how do you know he isn’t one? Now come on,” Belle said, hauling herself up to her feet and lifting Bae up onto her shoulders, “let’s go find Papa!”

The two sleuths worked their way around the first floor, but to no avail. He was not in the laundry room (hamper, washer, dryer, or broom closet), nor in the bathroom (shower, under the sink, or closet), nor in the living room (couch, curtains, or under the desk), nor his study, which was his usual hiding place when the world became too much (not behind the curtains, ficus, or liquor cabinet).

They moved on upstairs to the spacious second floor. The hunted through all the shelves in the library, in Bae’s room, the master bedroom, both bathrooms, the library again, and the play room. Still nothing. Belle was beginning to wonder if he’d just left, or if he was perhaps hiding in his car, when she heard a cough coming from down the hall.

Bae tapped her on the head twice and pointed in the direction of the sound. She could feel his excitement. Belle set him on the floor and gave him a squeeze. “Remember,” she whispered, “we have to use our sneaky feet!”

He was off in a flash, Belle sliding along behind. He pushed open the door of the second guest bedroom and they both winced as it creaked on old hinges. They crept inside. First, Bae tugged open the closet door. They’d checked it already, but perhaps the old badger had been moving around. Nothing.

Fisting the covers in both hands, Bae hauled himself up atop the massive bed. Belle watched from the doorway as he crawled across the plum-colored comforter, lowering himself head-first over the edge. His mop of brown curls was nearly touching the floor when suddenly the golden handle of a cane came swinging out from under the bed. They heard a loud growl as the cane skittered back and forth across the floor.

“No one here but us badgers!” he snarled, Bae giggling as he climbed down.

“Papa!” he called, tugging on his father’s suit as Gold wriggled out from under the bed.

Belle helped him up to his feet, wiping the dust off his Armani as Gold bent over and picked Bae up.

“You found me, little munchkin!” he said, kissing Bae’s plump cheeks. The boy just laughed and laughed, throwing his arms around his Papa’s neck. “Now why don’t you run down to the kitchen and pick out some hot cocoa packets. Belle and I will be down in a minute.”

He set the boy down and he ran off. They listened to the thump-thump-thump as he hopped down the stairs.

“You let him find you,” Belle said, curling against Gold’s side.

“I did nothing of the sort. A badger would never give away his position.”

Belle blushed. “I didn’t think you could hear us.”

“Old house, darling.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek, pulling her close for a kiss. “Besides, I think it’s quite apt. Vicious little beasts, badgers.”

“They only defend themselves and their young. And they’re quite cute,” she said, kissing him again. She moaned softly as his tongue swiped across her lower lip. “We have to get down to the kitchen before he gets impatient and tries to make cocoa himself.”

Gold grumbled and pouted. “Oh alright,” he said, sliding his hand down to her bum as they walked down the hall. She wrapped an arm around his middle, giving him just a little support down the stairs.

They found Bae in a pile of cocoa packets, having apparently dumped out the box. Grabbing three he jumped up and ran into Belle’s arms.

“Can I have whipped cream and sprinkles?”

“Of course, my love! Whipped cream and sprinkles for all.”

Gold put on the kettle while Belle prepared the cups one-handed, Bae in her other arm. Grabbing the whipped cream can from the fridge, Gold sprayed just a little into his mouth and Bae’s, being a bit more generous with his wife. Grinning like a cat, Gold stroked her jaw. “You have just a little on your lip, sweetheart,” he said, kissing Belle.

She smiled. “Well, thank you for getting it.”

They made the cocoa and curled in for an evening on the couch, Belle reading aloud to her two boys. They tucked Bae in, each kissing him on the forehead before kissing each other. Wrapped up safe and warm in their own bed later that evening, they exchanged long, slow kisses until they fell asleep.


End file.
